week in Review 7/24/10

Deficit Debacle; Obama Debt Commission Struggling to Achieve Consensus

President Obama has repeatedly promised to tackle the long-term structural deficit of this country, but when? Even his debt commission is at odds over whether it would be better to chip away at the deficit in earnest while the economy remains in such a delicate state, or after stability takes hold.

On Thursday, Mr. Obama signed a bill intended to stem government bloat by reducing federal government waste, fraud and abuse by $50 billion between now and 2012. “We have to challenge a status quo that accepts billions of dollars in waste as the cost of doing business,” the president proclaimed at the White House event.

With a report from the president’s Bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform not due until December, public comments from its members have yet to reveal a consensus view over how to proceed with deficit reduction. Sparing no frankness, Commission Co-chair and former Republican Senator Alan Simpson said recently that the group is comprised of “good people of deep, deep difference, knowing the possibility of the odds of success are rather harrowing to say the least.” Read more.

N. Korea Threatens ‘Physical Response’ to U.S. Drills; Clinton Blasts ‘Belligerent’ Acts

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — North Korea on Friday threatened the United States and South Korea with a “physical response” to planned weekend naval exercises as tensions with the communist nation rose in the aftermath of the sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on the North.

In Vietnam for a Southeast Asian regional security forum, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a North Korean official traded barbs over the ship incident, the upcoming military drills and the imposition of new U.S. sanctions against the North.

The spokesman for the North Korean delegation to the talks, Ri Tong Il, repeated Pyongyang’s denial of responsibility for the March sinking of the ship that killed 46 South Korean sailors and said the upcoming military drills were a violation of its sovereignty that harkened back to the days of 19th-century “gunboat diplomacy.” Read more.

President Obama, White House react to ‘cable chatter’

President Barack Obama has made a mantra out of insisting he and his White House won’t get caught up in “cable chatter,” with aides proudly insisting they don’t let 24-hour news outlets drive decision-making.

But this week’s forced resignation of a previously obscure Agriculture Department employee is just the latest example of Obama officials reacting to a cable news-driven obsession of the right.

It not only infuriates Obama’s liberal base, which feels like the episodes just reinforce the power of the right to push a damaging story into the mainstream press. But as this week shows, the White House’s touchiness even threatens Obama’s ability to keep control of his own public persona, or steer the national conversation in a way that’s conducive to promoting his message and his agenda. Read more.

10 nations join Mexican opposition to Arizona law, politician says

(CNN) — Mexico has received the support of parliamentary leaders from 10 nations in opposition to Arizona’s controversial new immigration law, the Mexican Senate president said Wednesday.

Mexico and the other nations signed a declaration expressing their “strong condemnation and profound rejection of the law,” said Senate President Carlos Navarrete Ruiz.

The Arizona law, which is scheduled to go into effect later this month, requires anyone being investigated by police for a possible crime to provide proof of legal residency.

Opponents say the measure is discriminatory and invites racial profiling, but supporters say it’s necessary to curb the flood of illegal immigrants in the border state. Read more.

Climate bill on the ropes

The Senate climate bill has been at death’s door several times over the past year. But with the days before the August recess quickly slipping away, the case may truly be terminal now.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has wanted to introduce a sweeping energy and climate bill by next week, and Reid even told POLITICO on Monday night that the package was almost ready to go.

But by Tuesday afternoon, Reid was noncommittal about when a bill would come or what it would contain.

“We’re going to make a decision in the near future,” Reid said, describing plans for a Democratic caucus on the issue Thursday. “We’re really not at a point where I can determine what I think is the best for the caucus and the country at this stage.” Read more.

Republicans See Path to Control of Senate

WASHINGTON—Democrats for the first time are acknowledging that Republicans could retake the Senate this November if everything falls into place for the GOP, less than two years after Democrats held a daunting 60-seat majority.

Leaders of both parties have believed for months that Republicans could win the House, where every lawmaker faces re-election. But a change of party control in the Senate, where only a third of the members are running and Republicans must capture 10 seats, seemed out of the question. Read More.

GOP senators: Obama failing in oil clean-up

Just days after BP temporarily plugged the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, Senate Republicans on Sunday lashed out at the Obama administration for failing to clean up America’s soiled shoreline.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” that the administration was suffering from incompetence.

“This is mainly a failure of the administration,” McConnell said. “BP caused the spill. It’s BP’s responsibility to plug that leak. The federal government has been trying to keep the oil off the shores of the United States. It took the administration 70 days to order [oil-collecting] skimmers down to the Gulf.” Read more.

Week in Review 7/2/10

God Bless This Great Nation

National debt soars to highest level since WWII

The federal debt will represent 62% of the nation’s economy by the end of this year, the highest percentage since just after World War II, according to a long-term budget outlook released today by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

For more detail on the report, check out this post in USA TODAY’s The Oval.

Republicans, who have been talking a lot about the debt in recent months, pounced on the report. “The driver of this debt is spending,” said New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. “Our existing debt will be worsened by the president’s new health care entitlement programs…as well as an explosion in existing health care and retirement entitlement spending as the Baby Boomers retire.” Read more.

Son of Hamas Founder Granted Asylum in U.S.

Mosab Hassan was more shocked than anyone when a Department of Homeland Security official announced in immigration court today that government officials had changed their mind about him.

Yesterday they saw him as a “threat to U.S. national security.” Today they say he’s welcome to stay in the United States and become a citizen.

Why the change of heart? DHS officials won’t say, but public pressure, Congressional support for Hassan and the word of an Israeli intelligence agent likely all played a part.

Mosab Hassan was born in the West Bank, the son of one of the leaders and founders of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group considered a terrorist organization by the US. Read more.

Burr-Chambliss bill diversifies energy, avoids cap and trade

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and a Republican colleague have introduced energy legislation they say would help the United States diversify its energy portfolio without the political hurdle of a cap-and-trade system.

The bill would provide a bevy of tax credits and taxpayer-financed support for nuclear plants, electric vehicles, natural gas vehicles and a variety of renewable energy sources.

Unlike the Senate’s better-known energy legislation, though, this bill contains nothing about global warming.

“It’s not a climate bill. It’s not a carbon bill,” Burr said in an interview. “But implemented, it would probably have a bigger impact on the reduction of emissions than the Kerry/Lieberman bill.” Read more.

EDITORIAL: Robbing Peter to pay Paul’s health care

Obamacare is a socialist law designed to take money from some Americans and use it to benefit others. The health care bill signed into law by President Obama is full of hidden time bombs. One costly provision buried in the lengthy reconciliation bill at the last minute has taxpayers covering long-term at-home care for the elderly. Through the so-called Community Living Assistance Services and Support Act (CLASS Act), Americans will find between $150 and $250 taken out of their paychecks each month to cover this program nobody knew about.

Democrats claim this isn’t a controversial program, but if they really believed that, they wouldn’t have had to sneak the provision into the reconciliation bill. But it was snuck in the reconciliation bill only two days before the House vote. Read more.

The Secret Agent Brouhaha

According to mainstream media and the FBI, a major Russian spy ring has been exposed and the members arrested. The suspects are believed to have buried stashes of money and exchanged secret messages in invisible ink, swapped bags in passing at a train station, and used Wi-Fi technology as they openly learned about U.S. policy and sought out confidential information. The tabloids were also given the priceless gift of a young, dashing Russian woman who would make the Bond girls of the movies green with envy. This story is simply bizarre, but it is also banal.

Again, Hollywood and memories of the Cold War have collided. However, it will most likely stop there. Until more information is released, it should be expected that both Russia and the United States will hope this story fades away quickly—both countries have more important things to work on together. Read more.

What did Hoover, Truman, and Eisenhower have in common?

Here is something that should be of great interest for you. Back during The Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover ordered the deportation of ALL illegal aliens in order to make jobs available to American citizens that desperately needed work..

Harry Truman deported over two million Illegal’s after WWII to create jobs for returning veterans.

And then again in 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower deported 13 million Mexican Nationals! The program was called ‘Operation Wetback’. It was done so WWII and Korean Veterans would have a better chance at jobs.

It took 2 Years, but they deported them!

Now…if they could deport the illegal’s back then – they could sure do it today. Read more.

Concerns Over Kagan’s Immigration Views Add to Debate Ahead of Hearing

House Republicans want the Senate to grill Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on her involvement in a federal challenge to an Arizona immigration law, adding a new layer of questioning into the mix with Kagan’s hearing set to begin Monday.

The immigration issue would be one of several concerns that have developed among Kagan’s critics in recent weeks. Though her nomination has been overshadowed in Washington by other issues ranging from the BP oil spill to the Afghanistan command shake-up, Republicans are looking to throw up hurdles next week to Kagan’s confirmation. She may not be the most controversial nominee, but she’s still got questions to answer and Republicans are not taking a filibuster off the table.

Fourteen Republican representatives on Thursday wrote to the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, urging him to press Kagan on her role in the administration’s Supreme Court filing in May challenging a 2007 Arizona law. The law gives the state the right to suspend business licenses of employers hiring illegal immigrants. Read more.

week in Review 5/29/10

Easley aide: Shred letter

A top state public information officer says that he was directed by close staff of former Gov. Mike Easley to shred a letter that had been sent in 2007 to Easley from the mayor of Southport.

Ernie Seneca, who worked in several high public information positions for Easley and now oversees communications for statewide crime control agencies, said the directive came from Easley’s press office. He said he was not certain who in that office told him the letter should be shredded but thinks it was Sherri Johnson, then the governor’s press secretary.

Seneca routed the letter, dated Nov. 29, 2007, to a deputy secretary at the state Department of Transportation with the instruction to “shred this after reading.” Seneca said it was a copy of the letter, not the original. Read more.

Republican Djou wins Hawaii special

Republican Charles Djou won Hawaii’s special House election Saturday, providing a timely boost to a party unnerved by a decisive Democratic victory in a Pennsylvania special House election Tuesday.

Djou got 39 percent of the vote, according to unofficial returns, followed by state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa at 30 percent and former Democratic Rep. Ed Case at 27 percent.

Djou will serve out the remainder of the term in the seat left vacant by former Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who resigned to run for governor. Read more.

N.C. vital in U.S. politics

The Washington gossip has Charlotte on the short list of cities being considered as the site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

When Barack and Michelle Obama wanted to kick back for a weekend, they headed for Asheville’s Grove Park Inn. Vice President Joe Biden was seen chowing down at Bullock’s Bar-B-Que in Durham earlier this spring. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid raised money at the Umstead Hotel inCary Friday night.

What this all suggests is that North Carolina has become a player in national politics.

There was once a time – say three years ago – when North Carolina was out of the loop, off the beaten track, in other words, a backwater, when it came to national politics. Read more.

Palin Links BP Donations to Obama to Explain Gulf Spill Response

President Obama’s oversight of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill may have been hampered by his relationship to BP, former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Sunday in the opening salvo of a verbal cage match with White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Palin suggested that the White House is too cozy with the oil industry because of contributions to candidate Obama during the 2008 presidential race.

“I don’t know why the question isn’t asked by the mainstream media and by others if there’s any connection with the contributions made to President Obama and his administration and the support by the oil companies to the administration,” Palin, a Fox News Channel contributor, said on “Fox News Sunday.” Read more.

Obama Tells Military: Prepare for N. Korea ‘Aggression’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Monday that President Barack Obama “fully supports” the South Korean president and his response to the torpedo attack by North Korea that killed 46 South Korean sailors.

The administration said it endorsed President Lee Myung-bak’s demand that “North Korea immediately apologize and punish those responsible for the attack, and, most importantly, stop its belligerent and threatening behavior.”

Seoul can continue to count on the full backing of the United States, the White House said.

“U.S. support for South Korea’s defense is unequivocal, and the president has directed his military commanders to coordinate closely with their Republic of Korea counterparts to ensure readiness and to deter future aggression,” the White House said. Read more.

Sestak confirms WH job offer to get out of Senate race

Rep. Joe Sestak, winner of the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary, is refusing to provide more information on what job he was offered by a White House official to drop of that race, although he confirmed again that the incident occurred.

The White House was backing incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in the primary. Sestak acknowledged in an interview in February that he was offered a position by an unnamed White House official – a potential violation of federal law – but has not offered any specifics on conversation. Republicans are trying to use the issue against Sestak in the November Senate race.

“It’s interesting. I was asked a question about something that happened months earlier, and I felt that I should answer it honestly, and that’s all I had to say about it.” Sestak said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Anybody else has to decide on what they will say upon their role. That’s their responsibility.” Read more.

Experts: ‘Doc fix’ a budget band-aid

The Medicare “doc fix” is back in play on Capitol Hill, and its mere mention provokes a torrent of scorn and vitriol rarely seen among the generally mild-mannered community of policy mavens who inhabit the nation’s think tanks and universities.

“It’s one of the worst pieces of legislation I’ve ever seen,” said Stuart Altman, a former adviser to Congress on Medicare who now teaches health policy at Brandeis University. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so vindictive about a piece of legislation in my life.”

“It’s a charade,” said Henry J. Aaron, a health policy analyst at the Brookings Institution. “Congress takes care of things but doesn’t actually do anything. They haven’t been willing to write up the full cost of changing the system, so the projected deficits don’t look as bad as they are.” Read more.

Our view on federal spending: In Congress, ‘emergency’ is what you don’t want to pay for

Memo to congressional Democrats: It’s not 2008 or 2009 anymore. Then, when the nation was facing financial catastrophe, it made sense to borrow as much as necessary to stave off economic depression.

OPPOSING VIEW: Vital aid fuels recovery

Those days are over. Now it’s time to start making choices about what’s vital, and for those programs that are, paying the bills instead of borrowing.

You’d think that with the soaring national debt emerging as a major issue in this fall’s elections, congressional leaders wouldn’t need this kind of reminder. But they began this week pushing two big new spending bills that together would cost more than $230 billion over 10 years. The initial plan, according to one estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, was to pay for less than one-fifth of that and borrow the rest. Read more.

Congressman: White House Job Offer to Sestak May Be an ‘Impeachable’ Offense

Rep. Joe Sestak’s allegation that the White House offered him a job to drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary race against Arlen Specter is a crime that could lead to the impeachment of President Obama, Rep. Darrell Issa said.

But the decision by the Pennsylvania congressman not to elaborate on a so-called deal also could become a political problem as Sestak tries for the U.S. Senate seat.

The White House reportedly is going to formally address the allegation in the next few days. In the meantime, Issa, R-Calif., is one of many inside and outside Washington who want the Democratic Senate primary candidate to explain in detail what offer the White House made. Read more.

U.S. Spending on Food Stamps at All-Time High, Sparking Debate Over Welfare

The U.S. is now spending more on food assistance than at any time in its history, sparking a debate over whether the roughly 40 million people now receiving the latest version of food stamps at a cost of $73 billion a year are a symptom of a weak economy or are part of a long-term expansion in welfare and related programs.

Food stamp supporters say the record-high spending is simply a reflection of the economic downturn over the last two years.

“The program is expanding because we are realizing a significant downturn in the economy,” said Ambassador Eric Bost, who ran the food stamps program in the first years under President George W. Bush. “The food stamp or the SNAP program, as it’s referred to now, responds to the changing economic conditions of the country.” Read more.

More troops will guard border

LOS ANGELES — President Barack Obama will send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest border and seek increased spending on law enforcement there to combat drug smuggling after demands from Republican and Democratic lawmakers that border security be tightened.

The decision was disclosed after Obama met Tuesday with Republican senators, several of whom have demanded that troops be placed at the border. The move also reflects political pressure in the president’s own party with midterm election campaigns under way and what is expected to be a tumultuous debate on overhauling immigration law coming up on Capitol Hill.

The troops will work on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, analysis and training, and will support efforts to block drug trafficking, The Associated Press reported. They will temporarily supplement Border Patrol agents until Customs and Border Protection can recruit and train additional officers and agents to serve on the border, according to a letter Tuesday from top administration security officials to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich. Read more.

Stressed Out or Tone Deaf? Obama Chicago Vacation Raises Eyebrows

Presidents are never really off the clock, even when they go on vacation. But President Obama’s decision to skip the traditional Memorial Day ceremony in Arlington while on his second vacation since the BP oil spill began has some wondering what the schedule says about his priorities.

On “vacation,” Obama still holds staff meetings, occasionally attends local events and often gets his “relaxation” time swallowed up by pressing national and international business — his vacation to Hawaii in December coincided with the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing. The retreat this weekend is marked by a side-trip to Louisiana to inspect the damages from the oil spill.

But some conservatives, still smarting over the criticism George W. Bush fielded for his frequent trips to Crawford, Texas, say Obama’s trip to Chicago over Memorial Day weekend is conspicuously poor in its timing. Read more.

Obama’s New National Security Strategy Abandons Bush’s Unilateralism

President Obama’s new national security strategy stresses the importance of a cooperative international response to global conflicts and moves away from the Bush administration doctrine of striking preemptively and acting alone if deemed necessary to protect the country.

Obama’s emphasis on exhausting diplomacy first was reflected in his decision to have Secretary of State Hillary Clinton roll out the security strategy on Thursday at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“One of our goals coming into the administration was … to begin to make the case that defense, diplomacy and development were not separate entities,” Clinton said. “Indeed they had to be viewed as part of an integrated whole.” Read more.

Week in Review 04/03/10

Senate hopefuls attempt to set themselves apart

RALEIGH — The Democratic Senate primary took on a slightly sharper tone Wednesday night as the Senate hopefuls sought to draw clearer distinctions among themselves at a candidates forum.

Ken Lewis, the Chapel Hill lawyer who is portraying himself as the heir to the Obama coalition of two years ago, suggested he was the Democrat whose election in the primary May 4 would mark a significant change in the Senate.

“We can’t change a broken Senate by sending a career politician to Washington,” Lewis told about 175 people at a dinner sponsored by the Wake County Democratic Women. Read more.

Incumbents Beware: Term Limits Resurrected by Disaffected Voters

WASHINGTON — Politicians are staying in Congress longer and longer, but in an election year with a noticeably anti-incumbent mood, some Washington outsiders are challenging the idea of making a career out of public service.

“We need folks coming in from the outside who have paid taxes and created jobs and lived under the regulations that these career politicians have created,” said Jim Rutledge, a Republican attorney running to unseat Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who has 33 years in Congress between the House and Senate.

Rutledge is typical of the outsiders running this year, who know statistics are not in their favor.

Between 1789 and 2002, 13.9 percent of House members and 21.9 percent of senators served 12 years or more, according to the Congressional Research Service. Read more.

Obama plays recess with Senate Republicans

As he made final preparations for his trip to Afghanistan over the weekend, President Obama also took a long-expected poke at the Republicans with a slate of 15 recess appointments.

In announcing appointments, Obama said Republican senators are trying to score “political points” in holding up his nominations, and, “I simply cannot allow partisan politics to stand in the way of the basic functioning of government.”

Senate Republicans said Obama’s actions will only make things more tense, after Democrats used a legislative budget process known as “reconciliation” to pass the health care bill. Read more.

Labor May Gain, Business Sends ‘Red Alert’ on Becker

March 29 (Bloomberg) — Efforts by labor unions to expand employee organizing may gain after President Barack Obama, rejecting objections from Republicans and business groups, appointed Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board.

Obama announced plans on March 27 to name Becker, a lawyer and Democrat who represented the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, using executive powers to bypass confirmation by the Senate, which had blocked a vote this month.

Becker, opposed by groups led by the National Association of Manufacturers, will be named along with lawyer Mark Pearce, a Democrat, providing a quorum to clear a case backlog including disputes with casino owner MGM Mirage and auto-parts maker Dana Holding Corp. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce put business on “red alert” for “radical changes” while unions cheered the action. Read more.

With Every Intervention, Concerns Build Over Size of Federal Government

Health care. The auto industry. Real estate. Wall Street.

As the Obama administration increases regulation and pumps up taxpayer aid in these sectors and beyond, critics say the president is expanding the federal government to unprecedented levels.

Sure, protesters have been on the National Mall for months holding signs about bloated budgets. But it’s not just the Tea Party crowd that’s concerned. With every step, like the signing of the health care bill last Tuesday, the view that Obama is making historic shifts in the role of Washington becomes more widespread. Read more.

Obama blames the Tea Party

WakeUpAmerica.com responds to this immature allegation saying, “it is not only the Tea Party Movement that opposes his bullying tactics of pushing through his own agenda, but Americans at large. He just cannot come to grips with the fact that his agenda is very unpopular with an overwhelming majority of the American people.”

In the recent Rasmussen poll results released today shows Obama’s approval rating at a dismal 47%; and 54% of the American people most likely want the Healthcare Bill Repealed, compared to 42% say it is OK the way it is. Just two examples of America’s displeasure with Obama and his agenda.

In addition, President Obama has broken numerous campaign promises including transparency and bipartisanship. His actions clearly underscore the old cliche – ” it is his way or the highway.” Read more.

Sarkozy Reveals Rift in U.S.-European Relations

Did it really happen, right there in the East Room? Could such a question be asked just one year after a nearly rapturous Europe welcome to President Obama and his promised era of engagement and mutual cooperation? Could Obama’s word actually be a topic of debate among Europe’s top leaders?

It appears so.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was asked to elaborate on his Tuesday comments in New York that the world needs an America “that listens.”

Instead of explaining whether America listens, Sarkozy talked about what happens when Obama speaks — denying a problem no one asked about — and in so doing revealed a surprising rift in U.S.-European relations. Read more.

Rancher’s Murder Exposes Deadly Gaps in Border Policing, Tancredo Says

Former Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, reacting to the murder of a well-known Arizona rancher by an assailant authorities believe was an illegal immigrant, said violence on the border has spiraled out of control and the federal government seems powerless to stop it.

Tancredo, who has called on the Obama administration to deploy the National Guard in response, told FoxNews.com Tuesday that the killing shows how bad the situation has become for Americans living north of the Mexican border.

“The violence on the border is … getting worse all the time,” he said. “This is just a horrible manifestation of it.” Read more.

Patient, Doctor, and Government – Who Decides?

How will the newly enacted health care legislation’s emphasis on comparative effectiveness research (CER) affect patient choice, and the future of America’s health?

Last week, Congress enacted a nearly $1 trillion health care program – claiming it would reduce the cost of care and even lower the deficit by more than $100 billion over the next decade. But how exactly will such a costly government program cut costs? Here’s one major way: by cutting your medical treatment options. And no, that’s not just conservative rhetoric. It’s a simple case of actions (and money) speak louder than words.

The aim of comparative effectiveness research (CER) is to measure the outcomes of different treatments and medications and decide which is most effective. The information is then passed along to doctors, patients and consumers. According to a CBO report, before 2007 CER consumed less than $15 million of the total government budget for research funding.In the past two years, however, the government has poured a tremendous amount of money into CER, allotting $1.1 billion in funding CER through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Read more.

Assessing Voter Partisanship: An Updated Model for North Carolina

In early 2008, the Civitas Institute premiered the North Carolina Partisan Index using data from the 2004 General Election. This year, we have updated the NCPI to reflect voters’ choices in the 2008 General Election.

Modeled after the Cook Partisan Voting Index developed for congressional districts, the North Carolina Partisan Index compares the political leanings of voters in each state house and senate district with the partisan voting tendencies of the state as a whole. The end result is a letter (D or R) followed by a number, indicating the extent to which each district leans one way or the other.

The new NCPI was developed using adjusted 2008 data on the elections for Governor and other council of state offices – Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Commissioners of Agriculture, Labor, and Insurance, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Read more.

Boxer Facing Toughest Re-Election Battle of Her Career

Ever since she was elected to the U.S. Senate 18 years ago, Barbara Boxer has faced little competition in winning another term. But this year, it won’t be that easy.

Polls indicate that the California Democrat may be about to meet her match – who will be determined in a June primary. According to one poll, Boxer is neck and neck with all three of the Republicans who hope to run against her in the general election: former Rep. Tom Campbell, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and state Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

In the latest Rasmussen Reports from last month, Boxer led Campbell 43 to 41 percent and was beating Fiorina and DeVore 46 to 40 percent.

“She’s in for tough sledding and she’s got lots of prominent Republicans ready to go after her,” political analyst Juan Williams told Fox News. “So what I sense there is that she knows the economy in California and especially the budget, government budget, state budgets have been a huge issue and there’s a lot of discontent, particularly with her.” Read more.

Feds Approving Bogus Products as ‘Energy-Efficient,’ Investigation Finds

The federal government has been slapping “energy-efficient” ratings on products that don’t even exist — including a bogus space heater with a duster stuck to it and an alarm clock supposedly powered by gasoline.

These fake products were submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy for approval as part of an undercover investigation by the Government Accountability Office.

The office wanted to see how easily the feds could be duped, since the Energy Star program used to identify products as energy savers serves as a guide to businesses looking for such modern marvels and the basis for millions of dollars in incentivizing tax credits — including $300 million from the stimulus. Read more.

Week in Review 03/13/10

President to meet with key senators on immigration

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to focus attention on immigration next week by meeting at the White House with two senators crafting a bill on the issue.

White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro said Obama will meet with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday.

The president is “looking forward to hearing more about their efforts toward producing a bipartisan bill,” Shapiro said Friday. Read more.

Iran’s Ahmadinejad: Sept. 11 attacks a ‘big lie’

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the official version of the Sept. 11 attacks a “big lie” used by the U.S. as an excuse for the war on terror, state media reported.

Ahmadinejad’s comments, made during an address to Intelligence Ministry staff, come amid escalating tensions between the West and Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. They show that Iran has no intention of toning itself down even with tighter sanctions looming because of its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

“September 11 was a big lie and a pretext for the war on terror and a prelude to invading Afghanistan,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by state TV. He called the attacks a “complicated intelligence scenario and act.” Read more.

Obama Draws Fire for Appointing SEIU’s Stern to Deficit Panel

President Obama’s decision to appoint his close political ally, union leader Andrew Stern, to the newly created National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has set off a firestorm of criticism from business and conservative groups who charge he is a political radical who should be investigated for failure to register as a lobbyist.

The prestigious 18-member commission will study and recommend ways to whittle down the $12 trillion debt the federal government has amassed. Stern is one of six panelists Obama has named; the House of Representatives and the Senate will each appoint six others.

Stern, the 59-year-old president of the 2.2 million-member Service Employees International Union, has angered business groups and political conservatives because of his support for health care reform and controversial “Card Check” legislation, which would make it easier for unions to organize in workplaces. Read more.

The nation’s capital is one sorry spectacle these days

WASHINGTON — Washington has its moments when the nation’s capital shines for all the world to see. Inaugurations. The Fourth of July .

This isn’t one of them.

Recent days instead have shown Washington at its worst. An ethics mess in the House of Representatives , even in its ethics committee. A nasty fight over spending in the Senate with the two major parties scrambling for political advantage rather than helping Americans in need. Read more.

Al-Qaida calls on US Muslims to attack America

CAIRO – (AP) Al-Qaida’s American-born spokesman on Sunday called on Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces to emulate the Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood.

In a 25-minute video posted on militant Web sites, Adam Gadahn described Maj. Nidal Hasan as a pioneer who should serve as a role model for other Muslims, especially those serving Western militaries.

“Brother Nidal is the ideal role-model for every repentant Muslim in the armies of the unbelievers and apostate regimes,” he said. Read more.

ACORN Registration Workers Charged With Felony Voter Fraud

Five Wisconsin residents, including two who worked for community organizing group ACORN, were charged Monday with election fraud relating to the 2008 presidential election.

State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced felony charges against Maria Miles, Kevin Clancy, Michael Henderson, Herbert Gunka and Suzanne Gunka.

Miles and Clancy worked for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now and are accused of submitting multiple voter registration applications for the same individuals, including each other, to meet voter registration quotas imposed by the community organizing group. Read more.

Two Congressional Candidates Sign Bonded Term Limit Pledge

Lindsey Graham to President Obama: Time to ‘step it up’

President Barack Obama is summoning two key senators to the Oval Office on Thursday for an update on immigration reform efforts — but one of them, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), thinks Obama should be the one giving the update.

Graham, less than thrilled at the notion of providing the equivalent of a book report to the headmaster in chief, said Obama’s lack of direction on immigration reform is hampering Graham’s efforts to recruit additional Republicans to the cause.

“At the end of the day, the president needs to step it up a little bit,” Graham told POLITICO on Tuesday. “One line in the State of the Union is not going to do it.”

For the past six months, Graham and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — who meet with Obama at 3 p.m. Thursday — have worked on a reform framework. Their plan, which hasn’t been introduced yet, includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants (a liberal must-have) while sweetening the pot for moderates by proposing tough new safeguards, including a biometric national ID card for workers. Read more.

Roberts: Scene at State of Union ‘Very Troubling’

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday the scene at President Obama’s first State of the Union address was “very troubling” and that the annual speech to Congress has “degenerated into a political pep rally.”

Responding to a University of Alabama law student’s question about the Senate’s method of confirming justices, Roberts said senators improperly try to make political points by asking questions they know nominees can’t answer because of judicial ethics rules.

“I think the process is broken down,” he said. Read more.

Obama Budget Raises Taxes and Doubles the National Debt

President Obama declared: “I didn’t come here to pass our problems on to the next president or the next generation–I’m here to solve them.” Yet rather than “solve” the runaway spending that is projected to cause historic deficits, the President’s budget doubles down on it with trillions of dollars in new spending and taxes, culminating in a doubling of the national debt. Heritage Foundation economic policy expert Brian Riedl lays out how a $3 trillion tax hike and an additional $74,000 debt burden on every U.S. household will affect the country–and why Congress should reject President Obama’s budget proposal.

When he released his new budget proposal on February 1, President Barack Obama asserted that the government “simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits don’t have consequences; as if waste doesn’t matter; as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like Monopoly money; as if we can ignore this challenge for another generation.”

Yet the President’s new budget does exactly that– raising taxes by $3 trillion and federal spending by $1.6 trillion over the next ten years. If enacted, this budget would increase the 2010 deficit to more than $1.5 trillion, and leave a deficit of more than $1 trillion even after an assumed return to peace and prosperity. Overall, the President’s budget would double the national debt over the next decade. Read more.

Parties Announce Top Targets in 2010 House Races

Wilson. The Democratic Party is gunning for your seat.

But the “You lie!”-shouting South Carolina Republican isn’t the only member of Congress with a mark on his back. Two Democratic and Republican campaign groups released their lists Wednesday of the top House seats and incumbents targeted in the November midterm elections.

The parties are looking to prop up a number of new faces in their quest to either retain or seize control of Congress. On the Republican side, the House Conservatives Fund announced endorsements for 10 candidates who will, as part of the deal, receive an extra $5,000 for their campaigns to unseat Democrats. Read More.

Sharp Elbows, Cold Shoulders Mark Biden Trip to Israel

Vice President Biden’s trip to the Middle East — meant to pave the way for a new round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks — is coming to a close, leaving in its wake a trail of stinging snubs, cringe-worthy blunders and one-word headlines in Israel newspapers: “Embarrassment.”

If it were merely a series of typical “Biden’isms,” it’d be one thing. But in a sign that U.S.-Israeli relations have cooled, the vice president and top Israeli officials spent the better part of the week poking each other in the eye.

It didn’t take long to see the trip was not going well. Read more.

Stimulus funds pay for monkey research in N.C.

Monkeys are getting high for science in North Carolina.

An analyst at the Civitas Institute seized on that image when selecting a cocaine addiction study at Wake Forest University Medical School as No. 1 on a list of the “10 worst federal stimulus projects in North Carolina.” Civitas’ Brian Balfour takes swipes at projects, writing that they “seem completely unrelated to avoiding an economic ‘catastrophe,’ but rather an ad hoc satisfaction of countless dubious wish lists.”

So, what is the $71,623 federal stimulus grant paying for? Read more.